


Let Me Tell You a Tale

by ohCaptain (AngryPirateHusbands)



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, Feels, Implied Sexual Content, Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Reading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 09:23:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8396233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryPirateHusbands/pseuds/ohCaptain
Summary: In which Thomas and James spend time reading with one another. Or rather, Thomas reads while James looks on lovingly.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [pirate_prompts_2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/pirate_prompts_2016) collection. 



Dark gray clouds had shadowed the skies of London for the majority of the morning. Rain fell in heavy droves against the windowpanes of the Hamilton estate, filling the otherwise silent room with a calming patter. The sound was only interrupted by the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance. While many may view such a dreary day with disdain, as far as James McGraw was concerned it was the perfect day for reading. He was seated now beside Thomas in the bed they had come to share quite often as of late. While the lord's deep blue eyes were trained on the book that lay perched on his lap, James' gaze was lost in that face. They had settled in for a day of reading while Miranda was out at a gallery, yet James had quickly found himself distracted. He found his own eyes traveling over the delicate features of his face. The short dirty blond hair that framed his face, the milky complexion that was void of any worry or wrinkles. Those deep pink lips that were slightly parted, moving faintly as he silently mouthed the words upon the pages beneath him. Eventually Thomas took notice of his prolonged stare and glanced over at him. A slender eyebrow was raised and the edge of that mouth turned up in a soft smile.

Immediately James shifted. Thomas' many looks always had the propensity to make heat swell in his cheeks and creep down his neck in embarrassment. It did not help his case this particular time, as beneath the thin bedsheets they were both stark naked. Clearing his throat shyly he slipped from the bed and began to collect the clothing they had so carelessly discarded on the floor the night before. His bare feet padded softly on the smooth wood as he found his shirt thrown over the dresser. He tugged his simple cotton tunic back over his head and straightened it out, the long sleeves sloping low to cover his fingers. The man had just reached down for his pants when he stalled in place.

"Wha--" Something was tickling his inner thigh. When James looked down he saw a trail of pearly white sliding down his leg. Almost immediately the heat creeping up his neck felt white hot. When he dared to glance back at Thomas, his expression something akin to surprise, the man was smiling warmly at him. A thumb trailed over his lip as he so elegantly stifled the urge to chuckle at the sight before him.

"There's a washroom through there if you'd like to clean up," the man offered gently. With his other hand he gestured to the door at the far side of the room. The playful, loving glint in those blue eyes was not lost on James as he quickly redirected his gaze and slipped from the room. He shut the door quietly behind him before leaning back against it. Even without Thomas' lingering gaze, the heat that spread through him persisted in an unmistakable way.

Vaguely James wondered if he would ever grow accustomed to this. This part of himself he had no idea existed until Thomas had so effortlessly plucked it from him and set it free. He had never before looked at another man the way he looked at Thomas now. With not just respect and admiration, but love. Physical, emotional, sexual, and all-consuming. He was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and although a part of it terrified him to the core he couldn't bare the mere thought of letting it go. He loved Miranda too, of that there was no doubt, but Thomas... He completed a part of him he had never even known was missing.

Lightly he swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat. James stepped over to the wash basin and washed his face with a splash of cold water. When he looked up again he finally caught his reflection in the mirror. His hair was mussed, Thomas having freed part of it from the tie that normally rested at the base of his neck. Curiously he raised the edge of his tunic, his eyes immediately noticing the dark circles that had been left from lips and teeth. And there it was again, that slow heat burning through him. His thoughts were interrupted as he began to feel more of Thomas' release wet his thighs. Quickly he let the cotton fabric drop and instead turned his attention to cleaning himself up.

When James slipped back into the room Thomas had returned to his reading. However it was short lived at best. As he moved about the bedroom those green eyes scanned the floor for his trousers until that velvet voice made him pause. "Have I ever told you about the cat Miranda and I came to care for?" he asked. When he looked up Thomas was staring at him.

James tilted his head slightly, an eyebrow arched, before shaking his head. "No, I don't believe so." The way Thomas then closed his volume and returned it to the nightstand signaled that he was waiting for him to come closer. James folded a few random articles of clothing over his arm as he approached and sat back down beside him.

"It was a particular little thing. Had the most brilliant coat of copper fur with piercing green eyes to match." Thomas was giving him that look. Calm, content, calculating, and James soon found a smirk pulling at his lips.

"The cat," James confirmed. His smirk only grew when Thomas offered a slight nod, those blue eyes alight with mirth.

"Mhm." After a moment Thomas continued, though his eyes never strayed from his. "He was very shy at first, kept its distance. At first we thought that it was perhaps due to some form of weariness or distrust. But even so it was obvious the intelligence he possessed. The clever wit. And the more we studied him, the more we realized that the distance he sought was not from some fault, but from a strong sense of independence."

James shifted slightly at his words, his fingers slowly fumbling from where they rested in his lap. It was a nervous tick that had long outlasted his military training. During their schooling they were taught that such displays of nervousness were no better than any vice. For a while he thought that he had it beaten. Whenever he grew weary he would simply clasp his hands behind his back in the steady hold of any proper naval man. Yet when he met Thomas and Miranda it all came crashing back. And it was a twitch that they had readily identified. This moment was no exception, and the lord grew quiet until those hands stilled and James raised his gaze to meet him once more.

Thomas was now regarding him the way he always had, with nothing but kindness and a keen interest within those eyes. "It took a while to gain his trust," Thomas murmured. "Even longer to gain his affection... Each time we tried to extend some form of comfort he would draw away, but soon he began to return to us. Sometimes every day, sometimes not at all. Yet no matter what we knew he would return sooner than later, and each time we welcomed him with open arms. Offering food and shelter... love." Thomas sighed softly before that gaze finally flicked away. His apparent uncertainty only piqued James' interest. "Until one day Miranda and I sat down and talked. We discussed if instead of opening and shutting that door each time, we instead chose to leave it open. So that he could come and go freely whenever he saw fit. Maybe even set up a permanent spot in our household for him."

James swallowed deeply. Thomas was now gazing upon him once more, the look of desperation and uncertainty in those eyes surely matching his own in this moment. He chose his next words very carefully. "You know how that would look, Thomas," he warned, his voice just above a whisper. "I know you and Miranda have never given much thought to propriety, but... what you are suggesting would extend beyond that. It would be dangerous, and I would not put us in even more jeopardy."

Thomas nodded as if considering him. "We have thought of that, I assure you," he implored. As he spoke he shifted in the bed to draw closer, ghosting his knuckles down the back of his clothed arm. "We thought that maybe, after we have seen through our plans for Nassau, we could get a cottage out in the country. Some place we can spend a weekend far from prying eyes." Thomas paused. "Perhaps a few weeks, maybe remain there for the winter..." James offered a small chuckle as he shook his head. Even so the smile that raised on his lips was unmistakable. "I know that you are a military man , that you regard your duty highly, so I understand if--"

"I would like that," James interrupted softly. It only took a moment for the relief at his answer to spread across Thomas' delicate features. Perhaps not even a moment had passed before those warm lips mashed against his own. Their mouths slid over one another's with a gentle fervency, James' lips quickly parting to invite Thomas deeper. He felt those hands settle on his waist before guiding him to straddle his lap. When their kiss finally broke Thomas buried his face against the lieutenant's neck. "I love you," he murmured in between planting soft kisses against his throat. " _We_ love you. So very much." James' breath hitched and he titled his head back, surrendering himself to the touch he had come to crave so deeply. He reveled in the sensations of those hands moving over him, wandering up the plane of his chest before slipping between his legs.

On principle, James was never an optimist. Even if it weren't for the struggle he faced his entire life, working his way up from a carpenter's son, the navy surely would have beat it out of him. Yet right now he was certain of one thing: he would never be as happy as he was right now. Miranda and Thomas were the only future he saw for himself, and he would fight tooth and nail to see that they were never separated, that the love they all felt for one another never extinguished.


End file.
